Analytical Methods in Earth and Environmental Science

Structure from Motion with Multi View Stereo provides hyperscale landform models using images acquired from standard compact cameras and a network of ground control points. The technique is not limited in temporal frequency and can provide point cloud data comparable in density and accuracy to those generated by terrestrial and airborne laser scanning at a fraction of the cost. It therefore offers exciting opportunities to characterise surface topography in unprecedented detail and, with multi-temporal data, to detect elevation, position and volumetric changes that are symptomatic of earth surface processes. This book firstly places Structure from Motion in the context of other digital surveying methods and details the Structure from Motion workflow including available software packages and assessments of uncertainty and accuracy. It then critically reviews current usage of Structure from Motion in the geosciences, provides a synthesis of recent validation studies and looks to the future by highlighting opportunities arising from developments in allied disciplines. This book will appeal to academics, students and industry professionals because it balances technical knowledge of the Structure from Motion workflow with practical guidelines for image acquisition, image processing and data quality assessment and includes case studies that have been contributed by experts from around the world.

There has long been a strong collaboration between geologists and archaeologists, and the sub-field of geoarchaeology is well developed as a discipline in its own right. This book now bridges the gap between those fields and the geophysical technique of ground-penetrating radar (GPR), which allows for three-dimensional analysis of the ground to visualize both geological and archaeological materials. This method has the ability to produce images of the ground that display complex packages of materials, and allows researchers to integrate sedimentary units, soils and associated archaeological features in ways not possible using standard excavation techniques. The ability of GPR to visualize all these buried units can help archaeologists place ancient people within the landscapes and environments of their time, and understand their burial and preservation phenomena in three-dimensions. Readership: Advanced students in archaeology and geoarchaeology, as well as practicing archaeologists with an interest in GPS techniques.

Rock magnetic cyclostratigraphy merges environmental magnetism, in which rock magnetic measurements are used to detect past environmental change, and cyclostratigraphy, in which cyclic variations of lithology or a sedimentary rock's physical properties are related to astronomically-forced paleoclimate change. In addition to providing paleoclimate data, cyclostratigraphy can establish high-resolution chronostratigraphy for a sequence of sedimentary rocks, even at distant times in Earth's history. This book provides an overview of concepts underlying these two techniques, recipes for the time series analysis of cyclostratigraphy, and case studies to illustrate the variety and breadth of problems addressed by rock magnetic cyclostratigraphy. New Analytical Methods in Earth and Environmental Science Because of the plethora of analytical techniques now available, and the acceleration of technological advance, many earth scientists find it difficult to know where to turn for reliable information on the latest tools at their disposal, and may lack the expertise to assess the relative strengths or limitations of a particular technique. This new series will address these difficulties by providing accessible introductions to important new techniques, lab and field protocols, suggestions for data handling and interpretation, and useful case studies. The series represents an invaluable and trusted source of information for researchers, advanced students and applied earth scientists wishing to familiarise themselves with emerging techniques in their field.

Phosphorus Pollution Control—Policies and Strategies Deterioration and decline of water resources due to pollution caused by humans and their activities has become a universal health, environmental, social and economic problem. Excess discharges of nutrients, in particular, phosphorus, has been recognized as the most prevalent water pollution problem globally. Moreover, its perpetual occurrence and expansion creates imminent threats to water and food security. Despite extensive research during the past five decades, many key questions in eutrophication science remain unanswered. This book summarizes the most recent policies and strategies for phosphorus removal and recovery from municipal, residential and agricultural wastewater effluents and runoff into a concise and up-to-date volume. The book will be of interest to environmental and water resources scientists and engineers, consultants, policy makers, and practitioners working in the field.

Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions do not only warm our planet but also acidify our oceans. It is currently unclear to which degree Earth's climate and marine life will be impacted by these changes but information from Earth history, particularly the geochemical signals of past environmental changes stored in the fossil remains of marine organisms, can help us predict possible future changes. This book aims to be a primer for scientists who seek to apply boron proxies in marine carbonates to estimate past seawater carbonate chemistry and atmospheric pCO2. Boron proxies (δ11B and B/Ca) were introduced nearly three decades ago, with subsequent strides being made in understanding their mechanistic functioning. This text reviews current knowledge about the aqueous systematics, the inorganic and biological controls on boron isotope fractionation and incorporation into marine carbonates, as well as the analytical techniques for measurement of boron proxies. Laboratory and field calibrations of the boron proxies are summarized, and similarities between modern calibrations are explored to suggest estimates for proxy sensitivities in marine calcifiers that are now extinct. Example applications illustrate the potential for reconstructing paleo-atmospheric pCO2 from boron isotopes. Also explored are the sensitivity of paleo-ocean acidity and pCO2 reconstructions to boron isotope proxy systematics that are currently less well understood, including the elemental and boron isotopic composition of seawater through time, seawater alkalinity, temperature and salinity, and their collective impact on the uncertainty of paleo-reconstructions. The B/Ca proxy is based on the same mechanistic principles as the boron isotope proxy, but empirical calibrations suggest seawater pH is not the only controlling factor. B/Ca therefore has the potential to provide a second carbonate parameter that could be paired with δ11B to fully constrain the ocean carbonate system, but the associated uncertainties are large. This text reviews and examines what is currently known about the B/Ca proxy systematics. As more scientists embark on characterizing past ocean acidity and atmospheric pCO2, Boron in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology provides a resource to introduce geoscientists to the opportunities and complications of boron proxies, including potential avenues to further refine them.